Thorn Scars
by Evil Icing
Summary: There is something about scars. They tell stories and can sometimes reveal secrets; the scars make you who you are. Shiori Minamino had always accepted the hideous scars she wore daily on her slender arms. But how can she accept the mysterious marks she finds on her only son, the beautiful young man she brought into the world so many years ago?


Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any characters herein. Just sayin'. **  
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**Thorn Scars**

There is something about scars. They tell stories and can sometimes reveal secrets; the scars make you who you are. Shiori Minamino had always accepted the hideous scars she wore daily on her slender arms. She always remembered what the scars stood for, and the accident where she had saved her son Shuichi from broken glass. Although it was a painful memory, she still treasured it. The way the young boy had looked at her was well worth it; he had watched her with emerald eyes wide, as if he were surprised that she had done that for him. Even as a child, he was so…mature. And caring.

"Mother! Why…? Why would you do that for me?"

Shuichi was such a mystery to her. Even now, as a high school student, his enigmatic aura covered him more than ever. Shiori was well aware that he was closer to being an adult now, and she hated to pry into his personal affairs. Shuichi had always been so polite and well-behaved, she knew that she at least owed it to him to trust him with his teenage life, whatever he decided to do in his spare time. She loved him, and he loved her. That much was not a mystery to neither mother nor son.

"I love you, Mother," Shuichi would tell her daily, a sincere, heart-warming smile covering his lips as he would wrap his arms around her. She would always return his gentle yet strong embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. He always smelled of roses and springtime, and this scent would always comfort her as she inhaled it. "I love you, too, Shuichi."

Yet, even as they were as close as they were, there was still a clandestine look her son would sometimes give her. It was a look that she did not understand, sometimes when he would return home late, exhausted and withdrawn. Sometimes even his clothes would be torn or ripped, his hair tangled and unkempt. She would always bite her lip, wanting so bad to ask him what the hell happened to him, where had he been? But…she never did. She would stay in the shadows and pretend she had not seen him. Her amazing, sweet Shuichi, who had done so much for her, had every right in the world to have some privacy. If he wanted to tell her something, he would tell her. He was an intelligent person, and if he had a problem, he would surely tell her. She was his mother, after all.

However, it was impossible for her to ignore it completely, right? As a mother, this is what she told herself. She still cared for him and wanted nothing more than his well-being. If he were getting into fights or being bullied, she would want to know so that she could help. She had always been able to talk to her son about anything, as they were very close. But why was it so hard for her to ever ask him about the strange things that would sometimes happen when he returned home?

Shiori pondered to herself about the cause of this. Bullies were of course at the top of the list, as torn clothes were an indication that someone must have done that to Shuichi in the first place. Also, he looked more serious than usual if his clothes or anything else were torn or out of place on these nights. She sometimes even noticed that he looked…guilty, maybe? A worried, secretive look would don his face, perhaps indicating he was hiding something from his mother.

However, if Shuichi was indeed being bullied, he certainly showed no indication of being beat up besides the occasion ripped clothing; his face would never be bloodied or bruised, and he never even had the slightest sign of a struggle. The only scars Shiori had noticed on her crimson-haired son were ones that she never found too surprising: Shuichi often had tiny, barely noticeable scars on the palms of his hands, most likely from tending to his roses. It was funny, as she was impressed sometimes that she had even realized it. Ever since he was young, he had always grown flowers and various plants. His long, slender fingers were elegant, yet the extremely tiny pricks of thorns would eventually turn to little scars that most people would never even notice, unless it was something they were looking for specifically on him. But Shiori had always noticed this about him.

Scars…

Shiori looked down at the scars that littered her own arms. They were scars that represented her love for Shuichi. She got them protecting him from danger. This is how she had always thought of it. Sometimes she would slightly hide them underneath her clothing, but for the most part she was never ashamed of them. But it made her wonder, did Shuichi have any scars that maybe he hid from her? Aside from when he was a child and skinned his knees and the many insignificant thorn scars on his fingers, Shiori had never noticed if he had any other injuries without her knowledge. She hadn't seen the majority of his skin in a long time, ever since he was old enough to dress himself as a child; he had always been modest and never appeared indecent around her. She never saw him shirtless, and he never dressed in anything that showed too much skin. Therefore, if he had any bruises or cuts from bullies, she would never see them.

One day, she decided to start asking him regularly about his friends, the people he went to school with, and if anyone was bothering him. Shuichi would always take her hands in his own, sometimes rubbing his thumbs gently across the indentation of the lower scars on her wrists, and tell her everything was fine. It was somewhat a habit of his.

"Mother, really, you don't have to worry about me so much. I promise you that everything is fine and nothing is amiss in my life."

"Shuichi, I can't help but worry about you. I'm your mother, and I care about you."

He would always frown, undoubtedly always thinking of different ways to comfort his mother into believing him. Even then, his words were always sincere. That's when Shiori decided to finally give in one day and believe him. She would stop trying to pressure him into an explanation, and return to her original idea of him coming to her if he really did need some help or was in some sort of trouble.

Then, one night, something happened. It was very late at night, and something stirred Shiori from her sleep. She roused herself from bed, and decided to see if Shuichi had returned from his trip. He had told her he'd be gone for a couple days, and she figured it was definitely time for him to be returning. As she made her way through their house, the only lights she saw on were the ones coming from the direction of Shuichi's room. She was glad he had returned home to her; she really missed him when he would leave, even if it was just for a day or two.

She shyly poked her head into his room, only wanting to say hello to him before she went back to sleep. Her eyes widened as she saw her son bent over on the floor, shirtless and obviously in pain. He noticed her as soon as she had stepped to his doorway. He looked up to her in surprise, clutching at his stomach tightly. Shiori then noticed his abdomen was wrapped in bandages, which he was attempting to unravel before she had interrupted him.

"M-Mother… I thought you were asleep…!"

Shiori ran to him, tears forming in her eyes. "Shuichi! What happened to you?!"

"Please, Mother, let me explain. I promise you I'm fine. It's not as bad as it looks…"

It was true, as she looked closer upon the wound underneath the bandage, she noticed that it was a fresh gash across his stomach, but it looked slightly healed. That wasn't what bothered her the most, though, as she looked at her son's bare chest. His skin was still very soft and pretty, as she had remembered it to be when he was a child. But there were many scars that covered his form now. Some were big, others bigger. A couple marks across his collarbone and chest were moderately visible, while a few deeper-looking scars were very apparent on his well-toned abdomen and lower stomach, close to where the fresh gash was. His beautiful skin looked more like that of a fighter's, toned and covered in marks and wounds. Her scars were nothing compared to her beloved son's mysterious and various scars. They looked like gashes and wounds that were at one time very painful.

"Shuichi?" she asked, running her fingers over a few of the scars on his stomach. "What are all these scars from…? I…"

He firmly placed his hands on each side of his mother's face, his thumb wiping a tear away from her cheek. "Everything is fine, Mother… you must believe me. They are simply scars, nothing more. This gash on my stomach will soon heal and become a scar, as well. I told you before…I don't want you to worry about me."

"But Shuichi!" she sobbed, burying her head in his chest. "I can't simply ignore a gash that big and not wonder where it came from. I am your mother, and seeing you in pain like this… is…is more than I can handle!"

"Shhh," he whispered gently, pulling his mother into a hug. "I'm alright, Mother. I promised, remember? Please calm yourself."

"I just… I just… don't know what you're hiding from me, Shuichi. I want you to be able to tell me anything and everything. I want to be there for you at all times…and just to think that…all these scars…all that pain… I want to be there for you…"

Shuichi reached for Shiori's face again, cupping her head in his hands as he pulled her face up to look at him. There was no sign of guilt or nervousness. He looked as calm and collected as usual, with a sincere smile that only he would give her. "Listen to me. My scars are not so different from yours, Mother… you got your scars protecting me from danger as a child, and similarly, the scars I carry on my body are scars that I have received from protecting you."

Shiori looked at him, puzzled. Her lip quivered as she continued choking back a few tears. "Wh-what do you mean…?"

"Now is not the time. I do not wish to worry you any further, and I apologize that you have to see this wound…but please, you must believe me. I love you very much, Mother. If you love me, you will let this go. Just this one time."

"Shuichi…"

"Please… I want you to forgive me for hiding these scars from you."

"Of course I'll forgive you," she quietly replied. He was so honest and sincere… she just didn't want to think about the pain he must be in.

"Thank you," came Shuichi's reply after a moment of silence, as he continued holding his mother in his arms.

Not too long ago, he almost gave up his own life to save hers when she was ill and on the edge of death. He saw every battle he fought as a way of protecting the humans he lived among; more specifically, her. He had grown so fond of her, and admired the love she had always given him. It was his duty to protect her from any demons or apparitions that caused harm upon her people. Fighting alongside Yusuke Urameshi had proven that to him the past couple weeks.

He squeezed his mother tighter in his embrace, noticing that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He carried her back to her room, trying his hardest not to wake her…he knew she must've been very tired. He yawned as he realized that, he too, was beginning to feel tired…especially after a long mission with Yusuke and the others.

He softly brushed his lips against his mother's tear-stained cheek, pulling the covers over her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Mother," he whispered softly, "it's just a bad dream. Sleep well."


End file.
